Legend of the Mermaids
by Mint Pearl Voice
Summary: What happened to Nikora before she became Luchia's 'big sister? Featuring little!Sara and the little!SecondaryTrio. Chapter 6 is now up!
1. Nikora

"Aqua Regina-sama! Aqua Regina-sama!"

"Ah, my Hippo," Aqua Regina said, with her usual benevolent smile. "What's new in the sea?"

"Aqua Regina-sama, there's-" The blond boy skidded to a stop at her feet. Only then did she notice the tears streaming from his eyes. "There's been a terrible accident," he wailed, collapsing to the palace's marble floor. "Princesses Hanata, Narani, and Rira- the earthquake-" He trailed off into incoherent hiccups.

The ocean goddess stepped down from her throne and kneeled down to rub Hippo's head. She was excellent at controlling her emotions, but a careful observer would have seen tears sparkling in her eyes. _Three daughters gone so young… and so soon after Sarasa, Kokoro, Noella and Karina's deaths…_

"Were there any survivors?" she asked solemnly, standing up.

"O-only one. My friend, Nikora- she was swimming with us when the rock shelf collapsed, and then…" Hippo looked up at Aqua Regina, his green eyes glinting with tears. "She's from the Antarctic ocean, like Princess Karen."

"Hmm." She nodded, but her mind was far away.

"And… She's really strong and really brave and really smart, and she doesn't have any family."

"Hmm." _Hanata, Narani, Rira… My daughters…_

Hippo dropped to one knee. "I know she's not a princess or anything and she's not very important, but even though she's not a princess, Aqua Regina, I want you to do something to help Nikora! Please!"

Startled, the ocean goddess took a half-step backwards. Shocked by his own outburst, Hippo instantly clapped both hands over his mouth. "Sorry, Aqua Regina, forget I ever said anything, I-"

"Where is this child?" she said quietly.

He looked down. "I-I brought her here."

That was when Aqua Regina noticed the tiny mermaid child standing in her doorway. She couldn't have been more than four or five. Nikora's purple hair was tinted with pink and pulled into a messy spiky bun, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"It's all right," Aqua Regina called softly. "You don't have to be scared."

With a flick of her tail, Nikora crossed the room to stand behind Hippo.

"Come closer, Nikora."

"Go on," Hippo whispered, poking the young mermaid.

Nikora advanced forward.

"I was told you recovered the pearls?"

"Uh-huh," Nikora mumbled. She tugged off her locket and opened it to reveal three pearls- one pink, one green, and one a pale aqua blue.

_She truly is a brave child, _Aqua Regina thought, nodding slowly to herself. _Even princesses are more nervous around me. _"For your service to the kingdoms, I shall reward you." The ocean goddess drew herself up to her full height, her ceremonial staff materializing in her hand. Slowly, she tapped the young mermaid on the head with the shiny jewel at the staff's tip. "Nikora, from the kingdom of the Antarctic Ocean, you are now a guardian of the princesses. You shall be granted the responsibility of taking care of all the princesses, starting with these three: Nanami, Hana, and Rianna." The staff disappeared from her hand.

Nikora was frozen in surprise, her eyes open even wider.

"Come on, Nikora," Hippo said. "M-maybe you should lie down for a bit." He took the stunned mermaid by her elbows and slowly dragged her out of the room.

Aqua Regina, a faint smile on her face, watched them go. _Nikora… don't worry. You'll do just fine._


	2. Princesses

It was strange, Nikora thought. Living as she did on the edges of society, she didn't have much chance to interact with other mermaids. She slept in a cave and ate raw fish that she caught with her bare hands. She had never dressed up for anything, or taken her hair out of its bun. She had never been called Nikora-chan, or Nikora onee-sama.

Now she was living in the castle of the Pink Mermaid Princess, eating cooked pastries and having servants arrange her hair, and seven mermaid princesses were calling her Nikora onee-sama.

She leaned against the nursery wall and cast a watchful eye over the room.

Karen and her twin sister Noel were in the room's far corner, Nikora noted, seated on a hammock decorated with shells. Noel was the Blue Mermaid Princess. She was five years old, the princess of the Arctic ocean, and Karen's twin sister. Karen was younger by about three minutes, but Noel was very mature for her age. The older twin was reading a seaweed scroll, the mermaid version of a book. Noel was completely still, without even the tiniest wriggle of her tail, but she bit her lip in concentration as she unrolled the scroll a few more inches. Her blue hair was almost indigo, and two seashell clips kept the long strands off her face.

Karen was the Purple Mermaid princess of the Antarctic ocean. She had long purple hair which fell into corkscrew curls just above her tail. And although she was Noel's twin sister, their personalities were very different. "Noel nee-chan," Karen whined. "Stop reading and play with me!" Karen tugged at a lock of Noel's straight hair and got no response. "Noel!" She leaned over and whispered into the other girl's ear. "No-elll!"

Still no response.

Karen shook her head in annoyance. "Jeez, Noel, what are you reading, anyway?"

"It's fairy tales," Noel responded without looking up. "It's really good."

"You're hopeless," Karen muttered. Having clearly given up on her plan to distract the older mermaid, she sighed and rested her head on Noel's shoulder. Within a few seconds she, too, was lost in the book.

Near the room's back wall, Nikora observed, Sara and Coco were playing together, as always. Sara was the princess of the Indian Ocean. Her orange hair was perfectly straight and went past the top of her tail. Sara was the most difficult of all the princesses, decided Nikora. Most of the time, she was sweet, charismatic, and the most well-behaved young mermaid in the ocean. But when she was upset, her personality changed. Sara was susceptible to fits of unstoppable anger, which were even worse when combined with the magical powers of a Mermaid Princess. When she stomped her feet and screamed, the palace's walls would shake; and when she threw herself on the floor and started to cry, violent storms raged in the world above. Afterwards, she would hide in an out-of-the-way corner of the palace, sobbing silently into her hands. When that happened, it took Coco, the Yellow Mermaid Princess, to find her and dry her tears. Coco, the princess of the South Pacific ocean, was Sara's best friend. To strangers, Coco seemed quiet and shy. But when she was among friends, the blonde girl became lively and vivacious. And although she hated singing in front of crowds, she had a beautiful singing voice.

Right now, Sara was performing a perfect imitation of Hippo's squeaky singing voice, which had Coco laughing hysterically.

Then there was Hana, the aqua pearl mermaid princess of the South Atlantic. If Nikora had to pick one word to describe her, it would be 'butterfly' which was also the meaning of Hana's name. Hana floated from thing to thing like a butterfly. Nothing could hold her attention for more than a moment, except for candy, flowers, or jewelry. She loved playing dress-up and braiding her long turquoise hair.

Rianna, the green pearl mermaid princess from the North Atlantic, was fortunately not as distractible as Hana. If she was, Nikora thought, I'd probably go insane. Rianna was very serious for her young age. She took almost no interest in her appearance, but excelled when it came to learning about mermaid history.

Finally, there was Nanami, the North Pacific's pink pearl mermaid princess. Nanami, Nanami, Nanami, Nikora mused. How would I describe her? Would I say she's like the little sister I never had? That her smile lights up the palace That I'd do anything to protect her? That the pink pearl mermaids are lucky to have her as their ruler? No, maybe all of that.

Where are Nanami, Hana, and Rianna, anyway?

Just then, four small hands grabbed Nikora's wrists.

"NIKORA ONEE-CHAN SINGS LIKE A DYING WALRUS!" three voices shouted in her ears. Nikora squeaked in surprise as she was tossed into the air.

"Ooh, we got you," Hana said as Nikora landed. "You should have seen the look on your face, Nikora onee-chan!"

"Yeah," Nanami said, nodding. Her golden hair was in two low pigtails. "It was something like-" She stopped talking and pulled a face.

"I want to tell you it was all their idea, Nikora 'nee-chan," Rianna stated, crossing her arms. "I had nothing to do with this. They twisted my tailfins!"

Nikora pulled herself into a sitting position and tilted her head. "Hana-chan, Nanami-chan, Rianna says you twisted her tailfins?"

"Twisted Rianna's tailfins?" A look of incredulous surprise spread across the aqua mermaid's face. "T-that's a lie, Nikora-chan! She came up with the whole thing herself!"

Rianna swished her tail against the floor. "Did not!"

"Did so!" Hana insisted.

"Actually…" Nanami swam forward, tugging nervously at one pigtail. "It was my idea. I came up with the whole thing. You're not mad, right?"

"Of course not," Nikora said comfortingly. She pushed off from the floor and rested her hand on Nikora's shoulder. "After all, I _do sing like a dying walrus."_

"_Nikora 'nee-san sounds like Hippo when she sings!" Coco called from across the room. _

"_No," Sara corrected, "she sounds worse than Hippo."_

_A mischievous glint appeared in the yellow mermaid's eyes. "She sounds just like-" Before Coco could finish her sentence, there was a terrible crashing noise, accompanied by screams. The room shook._

"_W-what was that?" Noel said nervously, the scroll she was reading falling from her hands. _

_Just then, the door flew open, and a short, blue figure waddled in. "Nikora-san, Mermaid Princesses!" Hippo cried. "The palace is under attack!"_


	3. Attack

The attacks had begun about five minutes ago, Hippo explained quickly. A group of Panthalassa sympathizers from the South Pacific ocean had somehow made their way into the palace grounds and were systematically working their way throughout the palace, killing or injuring everyone they came across.

"Hippo-kun." Nikora said. _I'm scared. I'm really scared. But… I've got to stay calm, or the princesses will be scared._ "We've got to get the princesses out." Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nanami swimming towards a door. "Nanami-chan, where are you going?"

"I'm going to hold them off while you escape," Nanami said.

"I'll go with you," Hana said instantly.

"Me, too," Rianna chimed in.

"No, you're leaving that sort of thing to the palace's trained soldiers," Nikora said sternly. She raised her voice. "Everyone, over here please?"

Seven Mermaid Princesses looked at her expectantly.

"Okay. There's a little problem with some water demons. I'm sure everything will be fine. But, just in case, we're going to leave the palace for a little while." Nikora turned to Hippo. "Hippo, you take Karen, Noel, and Rianna. Nanami, Hana, Sara, and Coco are coming with me."

Hippo nodded and closed his eyes. In a flash of light, he turned into his powerful Hippocampus form. "You heard Nikora-san," he called to the mermaids. "Get on my back!"

Sara, with her slim frame, was the lightest, so Nikora allowed her to ride piggyback. "Coco, hold my left hand, okay? Hana, hold my right hand. Nanami, hold onto Hana- and don't let go!" Coco and Hana grabbed Nikora's hands, while Nanami wrapped her arms around Hana.

Suddenly, an explosion rang out, and the nursery began to fill with thick, choking foam.

"Everyone!" Nikora shouted. "Come on, let's go!"

Everything seemed to blur at that point. How long did she walk forward mindlessly, following Hippo's silhouette, breathing in the Panthalassa's toxic chemicals? At one point, she thought she saw the faces of her family, but they were gone when she blinked. A small hand slipped from her own, then wiggled itself back in.

After what seemed like hours, they emerged through a doorway into the clean, open sea.

"Nikora-san, count heads," Hippo said. "Did we get everyone out?"

Nikora looked at the mermaid princesses. _One, two, three, four- She whirled around and stroked back towards the deadly foam._

"_Nikora-san, wait!" Hippo screamed at her retreating back. "NIKORA-SAAN!"_


	4. Little Bird

"Nikora-san, are you feeling all right now?"

Nikora opened her eyes and sat up. She was in her room in the pink mermaids' palace, lying in her hammock. Hippo, in his boy form, stood over her with a concerned look. "Hippo-kun…" Her eyes widened. She stopped mid-sentence and clutched at her chest. "Nnngh-"

"It's okay, Nikora-san, just try to breathe," Hippo said slowly.

Nikora nodded and fell backwards against her pillow. After a few moments, the pain eased, and she could breathe again. "What happened?" she asked quietly. A thought popped into her mind, and she lifted her head. "Everyone- is everyone all right?" Her last memory was of running back into the cloud of toxic foam.

"No one was hurt," Hippo said. "You were the only one injured."

"So all the princesses- all of them are all right?"

Hippo looked down at his feet.

"Hippo-kun? Well?"

The blonde boy muttered something inaudible.

"Hippo-kun, what are you not telling me?"

"Nanami, Hana, Rianna…" Hippo swallowed and turned away. It was several seconds before he spoke again. "They didn't make it out."

Nikora didn't know if it was the poison working its way into her lungs again or shock at the news, but she curled into a ball and gasped for breath.

During the escape, Hana slipped her hand out of Nikora's, replacing it with Coco's free hand. They helped Rianna off Hippo's back, and together the three Mermaid Princesses doubled back towards the main hall. In the ornate room, several of the Panthalassa rebels were gathered along with some young hostages. However, when Hana, Rianna, and Nanami joined together to sing Legend of Mermaid, the Panthalassa dropped to their knees and agreed to free the hostages. The hostages were escorted out safely, but it was too late for the three princesses. Having breathed in lethal doses of the toxic foam, they succumbed to its effects and died with the song's final notes on their lips.

"I don't believe you," Nikora whispered when Hippo had finished his explanation. She had pulled herself into a sitting position using her elbows. "You- you- that can't be true…"

"I'm sorry, Nikora-san," Hippo said quietly.

Nikora shook her head. "No, I should be sorry. After all, it's my fault." A tear trickled down her face. "How long have I been asleep for?"

"About a week," the boy answered.

Nikora said nothing.

"You took it better than Sara, though. When she found out, she threw a doozy of a tantrum."

Silence from the purple mermaid.

"What do you mean, it was your fault, Nikora-san?"

"Hana and Nanami," Nikora said quietly. "I was holding their hands. I was responsible for them." _If I'd been a little more alert…_

"_Nikora-san, that's not true! You did the best you could and you know it." _

_For several seconds, Nikora stared up at the ceiling. "When's the ceremony?"_

"_Not for three days. We've got plenty of time to make ceremony dresses for Karen, Noel, Coco and Sara."_

_Nikora nodded. "I'll get to work now, then."_

"_Nikora-san, you're too weak to even think about getting out of that hammock!"_

_Nikora had never seen her friend yell before. "Okay, okay. If you really want me to stay in bed, I'll stay in bed." She relaxed her arms and sank against the pillows. "Have the coral spirits bring some fabric up to my room, please."_

_Hippo nodded and headed for the door. When he reached it, he stopped walking and turned back. "It wasn't your fault, you know."Nikora didn't respond._

"_I'll have the fabric sent up right away," he said, and left the room. _


	5. White Dresses

White was the color of dead coral reefs, the color of ice where nothing could grow. Bones were white, white pearls were useless, and if a mermaid confessed her true identity to a human, she'd turn into white bubbles. White meant sadness, that someone you had loved was gone forever. White was the color of mourning.

On the day of the ceremony, every mermaid in the ocean was wearing white.

"This sash is driving me crazy," Sara complained. She was spinning around, attempting to grab at the pieces of orange ribbon trailing from her dress. "Ahh! I can't reach it!"

"You look like a catfish chasing your tailfins," Karen giggled. The purple mermaid was standing on the tip of her tail, brushing her hair in front of a mirror.

"Stop spinning around, Sara-chan, you'll make yourself dizzy," Nikora said from the other end of the dressing room. She was arranging Noel's hair into a stylish twist. "As soon as I finish with Noel's hair, I promise I'll tie your sash."

"I'll tie it for you, Sara," Coco said. "But you have to tell me something first."

Sara stopped spinning. "Okay, what?"

"Well…" Coco twirled around, then struck a pose with one hand on her hip. "How do I look?" Of the four dresses that Nikora had sown, Coco's was the most extravagant. The sleeveless dress was decorated with ribbons and bows, and its short skirt was poofy and pleated. 

"I can't believe you're even asking me that," the orange mermaid responded, shaking her head. "You look amazing, as always."

"Uwaaa! You're so nice!" Coco squealed, grinning. "Here, let me tie it." She swam behind Sara and tied the orange ribbon into a messy bow. 

When Nikora finished weaving the final white pearl into Noel's hair, she headed over to Sara and Coco.

"It's okay, Nikora onee-san. Coco tied my sash for-"

"I was just going to tell you how pretty you looked," Nikora said. Sara really was pretty, she thought. The orange mermaid princess had on a plain white dress. For accessories, she wore an orange silken sash at her waist, and a ribbon tied around her neck. The elegant simplicity of the dress emphasized Sara's quiet beauty.

"The dress is really pretty," Sara responded. "I'm going to wear it forever and ever and ever."

"Sara, you can't do that," Noel said, shaking her head. "It's white, silly. You only wear white when someone dies."

"So?" Sara leaned forward to look into the mirror. "I still like it." 

"Hey, Nikora onee-san, do I look pretty too?" Karen's short dress was trimmed with pearls.

Nikora turned towards the mirror. Her hair was in its usual spiky updo. _I've never liked dressing up… I just hope I don't look too plain. _"You all look pretty, of course," she told the mermaid princesses. "Now, if you're all done making yourselves look even prettier, we don't want to keep the seahorses waiting!"

A goodbye ceremony was what humans would call a funeral. However, there were several major differences. Mermaids turned into bubbles after they died, so there was no actual body remaining. The goodbye ceremony was a chance to share happy memories and sing farewell to the deceased. As princesses, Coco, Noel, Karen, and Sara were expected to sing solos. They rode in an ornate coach pulled by four seahorses.

Nikora and Hippo were riding in a smaller coach behind them. Hippo, in his bird form, was dressed in a blindingly white silk tuxedo, and was working his way through a bag of seaweed candy.

Nikora, on the other hand, stared glumly out the window, attempting to hold back tears. 

"Mmmph, this seaweed candy is so good! Do you want one, Nikora-san?"

"It's my fault they're dead," Nikora mumbled.

"Huh? Nikora-san?"

"It's my fault- what?" Nikora turned around. "What were you saying, Hippo-kun?"

Hippo held out the candy bag. "Seaweed candy?"

"I'll pass, thanks," she said, and resumed staring out the window.

"Nikora-san?"

"Mmm?" _Hippo-kun, Aqua Regina-sama, everyone, I've failed them all._

"You're not angry at yourself, right?"

"No, of course not."

The blue penguin rolled his eyes. "Riight." He paused to swallow a piece of candy. "Nikora-san, you 

couldn't have stopped them. You need to quit beating yourself up."

"I'm not beating myself up."

"Uh-huh," Hippo said. "And I'm a Mermaid Princess."

Nikora faked a laugh . _After this, _she thought, _I'll leave the palace and go back to the (NEED TO LOOK THIS UP.) I shouldn't be trusted with the princesses._

_Karen looked out the window of the seahorse coach, humming the same three notes over and over. The song that Karen would be singing was something she had practiced for years, but she still wanted to be prepared. "He-ee-ey, Noel," she sang. "What song are you singing?"_

_Noel's eyes widened. "I'm not singing by myself in front of all those people! I'm singing Kibou no Kaneto with Coco." _

"_You should do a solo, onee-chan," Karen leaned over to poke her twin's nose, making the older girl giggle. "I bet you know more songs than anyone there! But, no-ooo, Noel is so shy that she can't sing by herself!" She cleared her throat and broke into song. "Silly Noel won't sing by herself (won't sing by herself) 'cause she's so shy, she won't let people hear her voice-"_

"_What's that you're singing," Coco asked, "Aurora Kaze ni Noel?" _

_All four mermaids laughed. _

_Suddenly, the coach came to an abrupt stop._

"_We're here," Sara said, standing. _

"_Good luck with your song, Sara," Coco said._

"_Thanks… you too."_


	6. Songs

***

"Sanazami no BEDDO de me o samashita asa ni, subete ga-" Sara was almost halfway through the first verse when it finally hit her. Kind Nanami, ethereal Hana, resourceful Rianna- she would never see them again. "Subete ga, owatte- owa-" She hiccupped and cleared her throat. _I've got to keep singing, _Sara told herself. "Owatte hajimaru… maru…" _Nanami-chan…_ The melody trailed into nothingness as Sara began to sob.

From her seat behind the stage, Coco watched anxiously as her friend started to cry. She hoped that Sara would be able to hold back her tears, but it didn't work out that way. As the orange mermaid's wails intensified in volume, a strong ocean current began to swirl around the assembled crowd, ruffling skirts and messing up hairdos. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and clouds covered the sun.

_Uh-oh, this is bad, this is bad. I've got to do something… but what?_

Coco bit her lip and rose from her chair, a determined look in her eyes.

"Coco!" Noel whispered. "Coco, what are you doing?"

The yellow mermaid took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Owatte, hajimaru no. Atatakaku shizuka na, hikari ni tsutsumarete…"

Who was this other mermaid singing the song that she had written? Sara wondered, looking up. She gasped in surprise. Coco was standing next to her on the stage, singing in a pure and angelic voice.

Singing alone.

Coco, who said that she would never want to sing by herself.

Coco, her best friend.

Sara wiped the tears from her eyes, stood up, and began to sing. "Kibou ga, michiteru, umi ni kaeru no. Hora shiawasse no kane ga natte…" _Coco… thank you._

_***_

"Yoake mae kikoeta MERODI… sore wa totemo natsukashii uta!" Caren sang.

Noel knew that her sister didn't have a good voice. Caren's voice was nasal and whiny, sure. But right now, when Caren sang from her heart, Noel had never heard anything more beautiful.

***

"Nanairo no kaze ni fukarete…" sang thousands of voices. Nikora stood close to Hippo, hoping that his loud off-key warbling would disguise her dying walrus voice. She made no attempt, however, to disguise the tears streaming down her face. _Nanami… I'm sorry…_


End file.
